Observer News: Observations: Autumn is coming and the kitties are fine
Observations: Autumn is coming and the kitties are fine
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Mitch_Traphagen on 21/09/2011 03:15:00
By MITCH TRAPHAGEN
With all the bad news today, it’s a wonder that we’re all not clinically
depressed. Just the headlines of the local newspapers this past weekend would be
enough to push even the cheeriest of us over the edge: Man kills wife with
baseball bat in Plant City; Two shot, one dead in Tampa; Gunman kills wife then
shoots two pastors in Lakeland. There’s more, unfortunately, but I think the
point has been made. Without even touching on the economy, it seems people are
nuts and getting nuttier by the day.
But then again, people have always been nuts and once it reaches the point of
someone picking up a baseball bat, there’s not much anyone can do about it.
The good news is, despite what you may have read or inferred from the headlines,
most of us aren’t nuts—at least not that nuts.
A while back, I wrote about two kittens, one of which was found crying in the
middle lane on State Road 674 near I-75. All three lanes of traffic stopped and
patiently waited for my wife and me to back up our car and scoop up the kitten.
His name is Cypress and today he’s doing just fine. All of the people who
waited in their cars without trying to kill the kitten or me (without even
honking their horns) did a wonderful thing that day. He is a happy kitten that
has made life brighter for his human.
“I think he’s going to be a biter,” his human, Dr. Dr. Caran Stouffer,
said as he nuzzled her cheek.
The other kitten in the story is currently playing with her new favorite toy: a
chunk of dry dog food. The dogs have long since lost interest in the little fur
ball. It turns out that she, too, is a biter and none of them particularly enjoy
being bit. It’s an odd thing to see a small, gray kitten launch herself at the
muzzle of Sam, our 100-pound gentle giant. She is roughly the size of his head.
He doesn’t seem to mind the bites, but the kitten still freaks him out.
Napping throughout the day isn’t quite as peaceful if you have to wonder about
being attacked in your sleep. That said, he is protective of her—when she’s
not biting him, of course.
Last week I wrote about three friends I referred to as my grails. Ironically,
just as the newspaper was landing on driveways throughout South Hillsborough, I
heard from all three of them within an hour’s time. I don’t recall that ever
happening before — it wasn’t because of the story, only one had seen it at
the time. I believe it was because of some weird but happy synchronicity in
life.
I wonder if people who believe in fatalism (where the course of our lives has
already been predetermined and all events are inevitable) and those who believe
in chaos (where absolutely nothing happens for a reason) may both be correct.
More specifically, I wonder if opportunities rather than actual events are
predetermined, but it is our choice whether to act upon them. For instance,
cutting someone off in traffic to get ahead might get you to work a few seconds
earlier, but it also might have cut you off from an opportunity that hinged upon
those few seconds later that day. Or maybe the aggressive, stressed-out attitude
that drove you to negatively impact the person you cut off in traffic, closed
your mind to an opportunity that you might have otherwise seen. In other words,
maybe just going with the flow opens up channels that lead away from the rat
race.
There are a million ways to slow down and go with the flow: carrying groceries
out to an elderly woman’s car, holding open a door for someone else, crouching
down to listen to a child’s story, or even waiting patiently for a lunatic who
has run out onto a highway to scoop up a kitten. All of those things have the
potential to change your life in ways you can’t imagine simply because you
gave something of infinite value: a small piece of your time.
The opportunities are there for us (fatalism), but our actions determine whether
we take them (chaos). Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think being a jerk is
the road to happiness. While jerks may indeed grab opportunities by the handful,
I have a feeling those opportunities tend to be fleeting at best. I’ve become
convinced that there is a synchronicity in our lives and that we can revel in
it, or ignore it and rush past it. More and more, I’m choosing the
former—and happily so.
Of course, the pessimists among us will say, “You snooze, you lose” and that
waiting for a guy on a highway could mean the door of opportunity will slam shut
while you are idling. I don’t believe that, though. As I grow older, I’m
becoming more and more aware that the best things in life aren’t the things
you have to trample others in a rush to grab. The best things come to you,
usually in their own time.
And yes, sometimes they leave you, too.
Moments ago, I received an email from friends telling us their little dog had
passed away. We met the couple in the Florida Keys in the early days of our
sailboat cruise “out there.” Since we arrived by boat, we didn’t have a
car and Michelle and I were lugging too many bags of heavy groceries back to the
anchored boat when suddenly an SUV pulled up with a smiling and happy-looking
man shouting out for us to jump in. At that moment, we appreciated being
relieved of the heavy bags and the glorious air conditioning in the car, but
over the years, that paled in comparison to how much we have appreciated the
friendship of Steve and Ann. We met up with them later in the Bahamas and have
continued to meet up with them over the years since. Throughout it all, Mellie
their dog was their constant companion, often peeking out from the bag that Ann
carried.
Now, behind their tears, do they wish they had never known Mellie? Of course
not. They feel blessed to have had her in their lives for all those years. And
for the rest of their lives, they will cherish the memories and share her antics
with friends.
Cherish the moment. In this moment or the next, you can make some memories, even
those as small as opening a door or carrying some groceries, and fill up your
heart. While we all have to have something in our wallets to survive, we all
must also have something in our hearts to truly live. Make some memories and
cherish this moment.
The headlines aren’t the best, but there is something in the air today.
Something is changing; a spirit or energy is emerging. I can’t put my finger
on it, but I know that it’s out there. If nothing else, the beautiful weather
of autumn is coming to Florida — and the kitties are just fine.